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"A tremendous value for the price and easy to use!" on by rskolin
Pros: Easy to set-up, use and download
Cons: Didn't find any yet
Summary: The whole concept of Flip Video is simplicity. Open the box, drop in the included (regular) batteries, shoot, review, download, done! The camera works great!! If you're looking to become the next Spielberg, or you want to film an 8-hour epic that you plan on boring your family and friends with, this camera is NOT for you. But if you want a fun and easy to use device that fits in your pocket, you'll love this. The video quality is very good and makes great videos in a normally lit room, with no need for one of those spotlights that blind the subject. Also simple is downloading. Flip out the USB connector, plug it into your computer and voila! The software begins to download on your computer and you're watching your videos in a matter of minutes. There is no software disk or manual needed. Cables are also included so you can watch them on your TV. Even the product registration is simple. All you do is send an email to the company with your particulars and it's done. No surveys and boxes to click and unclick. I rated this product a "10". I don't see any reason why I would need additional memory, but again, I don't plan on filming the next Hollywood blockbuster.
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"A wolf in sheep's clothing" on by halleyscomet
Pros: Easy to operate -- even my 4 year old niece can film videos, play them back, and delete those she doesn't want; cheap; small.
Cons: Software bugs are devastating....check the blogs on this one. the only way to save videos is to go to a pure digital service provider
Summary: 3 problems, 2 big ones:
1) If you only want to have 60 minutes of video forever, this is for you. However, if you want to download videos and save them, you can't save more than 60 minutes worth. You can "save" them to your desktop, but your camcorder will still show as full. You can delete the files you've saved in the library or delete them in the camcorder, but then they are permanently gone. Really. The intended use is taking vidoes, posting them, then deleting them....hmmmmm. Customer Service is also pretty lame...of course you can't speak with anyone, you only get an email response that is unclear.
2) Software bugs....Now my videos automatically close after 1 second of play time...quick time says it's encountered a problem...this is even with the firmware update. Please don't frustrate yourself and buy this...it's deceptive...it sounds like a great product -- I was one of the first to buy one -- and you will love the videos you shoot, but you may never be able to access them or to shoot more than 60 minutes worth. I don't know about you...but I don't like some souless corporation messing with my videos...
3) Customer support is lame...but what do you expect? -
"Hardware (actually white) looks good. Software is iffy." on by timbreana
Pros: Both picture and sound seem to be high quality. Hardware is easy to operate, although it has limited functionality. It was easy to plug into the USB -- it mounts like a disk. We were able to use it with iMovie on a Mac (even with Mac OSX 10.4.11).
Cons: Found Flip software to be too slow, but can't compare with much yet. Somewhat awkward when plugging into the USB, because of size and weight. Video file is MP4, which Windows Movie Maker (Vista) can't read. Windows Live Music Maker (System 7). can.
Summary: For the sale price ($100) it seems like a great deal. Maybe I should have bought 8 GB/2 hr version, though, because it has image stabilization.
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"Beware of warranty." on by ohwell159
Pros: Great size. Decent video
Cons: The warranty, see below
Summary: If your camcorder develops a problem within the 90 day warranty period:
My flip video developed lines on the screen (you could not see the video) after trouble shooting with technical they had me return it. A few weeks later I get it back with a letter saying it could not be repaired so it was replaced. The problem was that I sent a camera in that was in "Like New" condition without a scratch or a fingerprint on it and what I got back was a camera with many scratches including one on the screen itself. After numerous phone calls and promises that someone will get back to me no one has. I find it ironic that they will allow you to return your camera to them within 90 days of purchase for a full refund if you are not completely satisfied (you have to have purchased it from them directly)yet mine was defective and was returned within 90 days and I get a uses one back. I guess I now know what they are doing with returns from the unsatisfied customers. I have posted the warranty information below.
Please submit a request to customer support detailing the nature of the problem. We will attempt to resolve this issue for you and if not resolved, provide you with further direction to have your camcorder repaired or replaced with a refurbished unit. -
"It has too many limitations IMO" on by weslemos
Pros: - Size (It's very portable)
- HD is cool
- Ergonomic
- Super easy to use
- MP4 video format is goodCons: - Slow to charge
- Sub par video quality
- Software is extremely limited
- It doesn't feel too sturdy
- No lens cover
- Zoom is no good
- It can't capture directly to a computerSummary: I've purchased several camcorders over the past years. I still think that the future of filming for the average user will be with a hand held flash memory product like this. Right now most of what I use are MiniDV camcorders and I think it would be unfair to compare them to this Flip camera since their video quality is definitely better.
In comparing this to my Canon PowerShot, I still would pick the PowerShot but they are comparable in many aspects.
Here are some highlights that I've come up with in regards to this camera:
- The battery charges via USB. That's good and bad. It's good because it's convenient. It's bad since it takes a long time to fully charge and you can't use your camera while it's charging.
- Transfer could be faster. If for some reason you're interested in filming an event that is a bit longer than the capacity on your camera it's not a quick process to transfer the video to your computer. I own the 120 min HD version and to transfer a full 120 min to my computer takes about 20 min. The transfer rate that I get is around 4MB/Sec. When I transfer using external HDs I usually get somewhere from 13MB/sec to 25MB/sec.
- It doesn't take pictures. I guess the people at Flip were trying to make this simple and straight forward, but I still think that the ability to take a quick picture is a good feature to have.
- The software that comes with the camera is pretty useless IMO. If you've used any video software you will not be interested in using this one.
- The picture while filming in the LCD looks better than what it does for real. When I was filming for the first times in low light, I was looking in the LCD and I was super impressed thinking that it was filming great because things still seems bright and defined. When I transfered the videos to my computer, I noticed that this wasn't the case and that the videos were actually pretty dark and very grainy.
- No instant capture. Again, I know this was intentional, but it really would be convenient if you could hook this up to your computer and have it be recognized as a video device. It would allow you to use other applications to record your video and it wouldn't have disk space or battery life limitations like it does.
- The mic is pretty good. It's very directional so it will really pick up well what's in front of it, and the sounds behind it will be much fainter. So if you are used to narrating while you are filming something, take that into consideration since your voice will be very faint since you're behind the mic.
- Does it really need a "Flip" usb device? I'd be happy with just a mini usb slot on it. The flip out usb stick is attractive but does take up a lot of space for a device which is trying to be as portable as possible. The flip out usb stick is short and if you are trying to plug it into your laptop for example, and you have something else plugged in, you're not going to have an easy time. I already have started taking around an extension usbchord with me to make sure I don't have problems with plugging it in harder to get to places.
- I bought a black Flip that had a rubbery type finish on it. Grease marks from your fingers will quickly appear all over your camera. I don't know really how to solve this one, but I don't feel like I have this problem with any of my other small electronics.
- FYI on the video size: 1.5 hours of very basic filming (I just left it filming the wall) took up about 3.2 GB. I'm not sure if the battery gave out or not, but it did just stop filming on it's own after 1.5 hours even though it still had enough space on it to film another full hour at least. (when filming motionless targets, you'll get more footage than advertised).
- There are NO VIDEO SETTINGS. The only settings you have are the date, if you want it to beep or not, and if you want the red light to come on when you are recording. I just assumed that I could film in something like 800X600 or something less than the full HD mode, but that's not an option.
- The Zoom was very weak. I'm guessing it's about a 2 times digital zoom. So you'll need to make sure that you're right up close to whatever you want to film with this camera.
- It only has HMDI out. If you like HDMI, than that's great, if you like other video formats, you'll need a converter and those aren't cheap.
- I wish it had a lens cover.
So those are my thoughts for now at least. In the end I wouldn't recommend this product and I'd probably suggest a real camcorder or even a digital camera like a Canon power shot that had HD if that's what you wanted.
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